Victoria animal hospital
Location Details
Blue Cross Victoria animal hospital treats thousands of pets every year, with treatments ranging from routine neutering to complex operations. The hospital is thought to be the oldest of its kind in the world. It opened in 1906 and has never closed its doors to needy animals since. It was the headquarters of Blue Cross for many years. In 2001 it was rebuilt and has state-of-the-art veterinary facilities.
Register at Victoria animal hospital
Jump to how to donate to our pet food bank.
Is my pet eligible for treatment?
You can register your pet at one of our animal hospitals for free of charge or reduced cost veterinary treatment if you:
- receive certain means-tested benefits
- live within one of our catchment areas
- pay a registration fee of £10 every year for each registered pet
If you are already registered at one of our animal hospitals, find out more about recent vet care changes.
Free of charge vet care
Your pet will be eligible for free of charge veterinary treatment in most cases (we will ask for a voluntary donation) if you live within our catchment area and receive any of the following benefits:
- Universal credit where there has not been a reduction in payment due to work or other income such as savings
- Income support
- Jobseeker’s allowance (income-based)
- Employment and support allowance (income-related)
- Pension credit
Reduced cost vet care
You are eligible for reduced cost vet care, where you are asked to pay towards your pet's treatment, if you live within our catchment area and receive any of the following means-tested benefits:
- Universal credit (if not maximum award)
- Working tax credit
- Child tax credit
- Housing benefit with no other benefit
- Council tax reduction with no other benefit (not the 25 per cent single person discount)
You will need to pay a reduced cost towards your pet’s treatment. Our reduced cost vet care is around 30 per cent lower than private vet practice fees.
The catchment area for Victoria animal hospital:
North
NW8, N4, N5, N7, N15, N16
East
EC1, EC2, EC3, EC4, E4, E5, E6, E7, E10, E11, E12, E13, E14, E15, E16, E17, E18
South East
All SE- postcodes
South West
SW1, SW2, SW3, SW4, SW5, SW6, SW7, SW8, SW9, SW10, SW11, SW12, SW16, SW17, SW18, SW19, SW20
West
W1, W2, W4, W6, W8, W11, W12, W14, WC1, WC2
Other parts of London
CR4, SM4, KT3
Different postcode restrictions apply to our Ambulance Schemes.
Try and use your nearest animal hospital but, subject to the availability of appointments, you can choose which animal hospital to visit. If your usual animal hospital cannot offer a convenient appointment you can contact another hospital for an appointment.
Clients who were registered at one of our mobile clinics can also use our animal hospitals for appointments. Do not forget to double check where you have booked your appointment before visiting or collecting a prescription!
How many pets can I register?
There is no limit to the number of pets you can register, but you must complete a registration form for each pet. If you are eligible for free of charge vet care, you will only receive free treatment for two pets. You will have to pay towards treatment for any other pets registered.
Out of hours emergency service
If you are not registered at a Blue Cross animal hospital, please call your usual vet practice before contacting us.
If your pet is ill and needs to be seen urgently, please call us on 0300 777 1890 and hold until the message has finished to speak to one of the team.
All pet owners will need to pay an out of hours fee of £50 from 4 May 2021 if seen at one of our animal hospitals.
What if I have not yet registered but my pet needs treatment?
Please contact us to check that you are eligible and to book an appointment before visiting.
You will need to bring proof of your benefit, along with photo ID. If you do not have photo ID, you can bring a utility bill (gas, electricity or water) with your name and address on it.
We will also need to see a benefit award letter issued within the last 12 months. If the letter is more than six months old, award letters for jobseeker's allowance, employment and support allowance, working tax credits, universal credit or income support should be accompanied by a bank statement showing a DWP payment within the last three months while council tax reduction or housing benefit letters should be accompanied by a rent statement dated within the last three months. If a rent statement is not available we will accept an award letter. Those in receipt of pension credit will only need to show an award letter once a year.
Order repeat prescriptions online
You can now order a prescription online and collect it from our Victoria animal hospital.
Support us
By providing a donation through our Amazon Wish List, you can provide vital supplies that will go towards caring for the pets we care for or give a pet a much-needed treat.
Watch 24 hours in animal A&E
The Blue Cross animal hospital in Victoria is thought to be the oldest facility of its kind in the world, and has been on the frontline of veterinary medicine since it opened in 1906.
Here’s what a typical day holds for our flagship central London hospital.
Pet food bank
How to get pet food
We’ve partnered with the food banks below so they can give out the pet food, bedding and other items we are donated.
For details of our partner food banks’ opening times, contact details and more information, please click the links below to be taken to their own website. Please note you may need a referral from a frontline professional, Citizens Advice, or a voucher to use our partners’ food banks. Blue Cross is unable to provide a referral.
Westminster Chapel food bank may not have your pet’s usual food brand or type in stock when you need our help. We’ve put together some useful tips on feeding your pet in a crisis situation to help you manage this.
How to donate pet food
No one should have to choose between feeding themselves and feeding their pet. We collect food and other pet items for Blue Cross pet food banks at our hospital and distribute it through our food bank partners. Each and every donation we receive goes to support pets and their families in the local area and helps keep pets in their loving homes.
We accept donations for our pet food bank here at any time during our opening hours. Please let a member of our team know when you arrive and your items will be gratefully received. You can also support us by donating funds to our pet food bank appeal.
The pets helped by our pet food banks are:
- cats
- chinchillas
- degus
- dogs
- ferrets
- gerbils
- guinea pigs
- hamsters
- mice
- rabbits
- rats
What we can accept:
- Wet or dry pet food in unopened tins, pouches or packets, including special diets eg senior, puppy, kitten
- Hay, straw and substrate for rabbits, guinea pigs and other small pets
- Litter
- Bedding
Sorry, but we’re unable to accept donations of the following:
- Dry pet food that’s over three months past its best before date
- Wet pet food that’s over three years past its best before date
- Open packets of food or litter where the contents have been exposed to the air. Open boxes containing individual pouches or tins are accepted as long as the pouches or tins are unopened.
- Food with damaged packaging, including dented tins, holes in sacks, grease spots on bags
- Raw food
- Food for humans
- Food or items for horses. We hope to be able to collect these soon.
